Obama email list for sale- comments

Great comments came in on Obama email list post (see end of previous post to get access). But, readers say it's hard to leave comments, cause to do so apparently requires a google email account. To heck wit 'em! If you don't want the hassle, just send comments by email to jwagner@bethesda20817.net. I'll give you credit for ideas I steal, either by indicating that my old friend "Anonymous" told me... , or by first name and last initial, if you give permission. But, the gist of Ben and Michael's comments was that I shoulda checked the privacy policy on both the campaign and change.gov websites. Who does that these days? All that fine print! Sort of like a reading a sub-prime mortgage. Anyway, from those helpful guys' info, I learned that campaign privacy policy says:

• It is our general policy not to make Personal Information available to anyone other than our employees, staff, and agents. We may also make personal information available to organizations with similar political viewpoints and objectives, in furtherance of our own political objectives.


• Online petitions and Personal Information: We treat your name, city, state, and any comments as public information. We may, for example, provide compilations of petitions, with your comments, to national leaders, without disclosing email addresses. We may also make comments along with your city and state available to the press and public online.
  
• Opting out and modifying information: "Subscribers to our e-mail list may terminate their subscriptions via a link at the bottom of each email sent from BarackObama.com.

Well, after reading this myself I'm not sure that the privacy policy actually says that it can sell email addresses. (Remember, collateral is a contingent contract of sale.) And, what political organization (except the DNC? or a PAC?) had the money to lend to the Obama campaign? Well, at least they didn't contemplate selling the email list to AIG. (I hope.) I expect dot-coms to sell my email adddress, but not political campaigns. If you think this issue isn't worth worrying about, you'll enjoy the comment by Anonymous, who argues convincingly that no commercial enterprise worth its salt would value the Obama list, cause it is simply too unfocused. So, that's the end of my worrying about Disappointment #1.